


Perpetual Motion

by ThePrettyTomboy



Series: Carolina Appreciation Week [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Canon Compliant, Carolina Appreciation Week, F/M, Implied Relationships, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2420429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePrettyTomboy/pseuds/ThePrettyTomboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They call her a prodigy, but Carolina’s never seen it that way. She's nothing if not the result of a lifetime of perpetual motion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perpetual Motion

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers, obviously. Get yourself through season ten if you haven't already.
> 
> Drabble for Carolina Appreciation Week, probably going to be the first of many because this lady deserves our appreciation.

          They call her a prodigy, but Carolina’s never seen it that way. She's nothing if not the result of a lifetime of perpetual motion.

          They say she was groomed for the battlefield by her father, but that’s so far from the truth it’s almost laughable. Following the death of her mother, the death of his beloved Allison, the Director became detached from reality, taking only the vaguest interest in his daughter as he continued to exist in a lifetime long past. He never did a damn thing to prepare his child for the battlefield. Carolina groomed herself.

          Her childhood was a blur of martial arts and gymnastics, of hours spent poring over volumes detailing military history and robotics. Her father took no notice when she enrolled in the UNSC military academy, when she graduated with top honors, when she was promoted to first lieutenant.

          For years Carolina dealt with her father’s disinterest by throwing herself into her training, pushing herself to be stronger, faster, tougher. Pushing herself to be more like Allison. And one night, she dealt with her father’s disinterest by downing three shots and trying to start a fight with another soldier. That night she stumbled, but York was there to catch her before she fell, laughing off her antagonistic intentions with a cheesy line about angels and heaven. On the night she lost her reason to push forward, York gave her a new one.

          Soon after came the inception of Project Freelancer, and for the first time in her life, Carolina was surrounded by people who cared about her. On the field, her team was ruthless and without question a collection of the best-trained soldiers in all the UNSC. Off the field they were a family, albeit a dysfunctional one. But even that much was stolen from her with the implementation of the leaderboard, pitting teammate against teammate with an unknowable purpose. Next came Agent Texas, the A.I.’s, and the implosion of the project, the end of which left Carolina for dead at the bottom of a ravine.

          Maybe it would have been for the best if she’d died then and there, but her momentum was too great, and she carried on. The bitterness and distrust for others consumed her and she quested for vengeance, finding her chance in information from the last freelancer to leave the project, young Agent Washington. She struck fear into the heart of Wash and his pet simulation troopers, spurred them into action and recovered the Epsilon unit. She hardened herself against their hatred and poured everything into her mission, to destroy the source of her suffering.

          And when that moment came, Carolina couldn’t do it. The wizened form of the Director, broken by the love he lost, was too pathetic to spark her fury. She was a bullet away from her objective, and she walked away. The chain that tethered her to the past fell away, and Carolina was moving forward without the weight of her father’s grief to slow her down.

          They claim she’s extraordinary, and Carolina supposes she can agree with that, but not for the reasons they give. Her power does not lie in her speed or her strength, but in her ability to keep going.


End file.
